How often do you totally break down corny kegs

I haven't stripped/damaged any post threads yet, though I have heard it's possible. I tighten carefully with a socket wrench until there is resistance (which happens very quickly, just beyond finger tight), then I stop. I have never had any post leaks. Poppet failures are another thing though.

 

Every time.

 

I should add that I have a keg filled with One-Step cleaner/sanitizer. When a keg kicks, I hook this up and run it through the line. Then let it sit until I tap the next keg. I usually let it sit with the One-Step in the line for a day, even if I have another keg ready to go. I then hook up the new keg and rinse the line with beer (the first pint or two will get tossed anyway). I do a complete cleaning including disassembling the faucets and running BLC through the lines maybe once a year.

 

I generally leave them pressurized when they kick, and wait until I've got more than one to clean.
...might just be an excuse to buy more kegs.

generally keep 1-2 kegs around just for secondary/lagering/dry hopping for stuff I know will eventually be bottle conditioned. replaced those dip tubes with a short gas in tube; nice to have it out of the way.

 

Yep, every time. After a beer kicks I clean the keg with hot water and Oxi (very light dilution) and run that through my keg lines. Then I dismantle my keg and clean everything with said dilution, rinse, and then run just hot water through my keg lines. Then I fill the keg about half way with a StarSan solution and run some of that through my lines, and store the keg with pressure in it. Complete overkill, I know.

 

Every time for me. It just doesn't feel right if I don't. That's my OCD kicking in.

 

About once a year. Some kegs will have several beers in that time. Others might have a wrong beer in it for over 2 years, or a lager for a year.

I do the PBW Then SS cycle every time. The posts can trap gunk, so it is good to take those off and inspect now and then. You can boil those to kill any nasties.

 

I take a shower with my empty kegs. and my 7/8" wrench. the dip tube gets pulled and rinsed. the gas side maybe, if I don't feel like it I leave it alone. I have a lot of spare O-rings because I never use them. then I go to the beer fridge, dip my finger into the industrial tube of food grade lube and grease the race track.

a few rinses with warm water is all it takes. my beers taste like ivory soap though.

 

I'll break each one down between each fill, doing the following:

(1) Rinse with hot water to remove any sediment.
(2) Fill with 1 gallon solution of BLC (including picnic-tap draft line) and let sit for 15 minutes, periodically shaking the keg
(3) Discharge BLC through draft line.
(4) Rinse with hot water, including line.
(5) Dismantle valves and remove dip tubes, re-lube gaskets and sanitize parts in Iodophor.
(6) Reassemble and fill keg with 1 gallon of Iodophor solution, periodically shaking.
(7) Pressurize and let sit until next fill.

 

After my keg blows I'll rinse with hot water then fill 1/2 way up with iodine solution and run through the posts. Before I keg a batch I fill the keg 1/4 up with boiling water and shake and let sit upside down. When I pull my posts off wich I will do If I feel like it they have little or no gunk on them.

 

After a keg kicks, I'll rinse with hot water then add oxy clean, fill with hot water, then run a bit through the picnic tap. Everything soaks with this solution over night or more then I rinse everything thoroughly and sanitize, pressurize and store. After every 3 or so keg fills, I'll remove the posts/poppets and dip tubes and inspect. There is really never any grime on them. I usually just give a good rinse and soak in starsan. There is never much to clean. I only started to remove the post every few fills since I found a piece of coconut stuck at the poppet valve. But even then the piece looked liked it had been thoroughly soaked and rinsed, it just couldn't pass through.

 

0 times the first year and a half... about every other fill now

I always do a rinse with water, then fill it up with hot water + oxyclean and let it sit. Then I dump that and fill half way with starsan. Ill use it to quickly rinse beer lines between kegs and then when it comes time to use it, ill dump or transfer it and use the clean keg.

 

You should install a garbage disposal in there...I hear you can make a tasty salad while you clean yourself.

 

"I prepared this while I bathed"

 

good one.

I started by using the tub as a sort of slop sink, for rinsing trub out of the bucket etc. then I figured what the hell, I need to get a shower, my brewery needs a good scrubbing, why not? grab a beer and get it done.
it is really not a problem to haul some equipment in to the shower, scrub and rinse.
Cheers.

 

E'ery time.

 

I started kegging about 1995, I've broken each of my 20+ kegs down and replaced all the seals at lest once, some of them probably twice.Like mikehartigan I'll wait until I have a few empties, rinse them to get most of the visible crud out. Then I heat a PBW solution up to around 165F, soak the first keg for 15-30 minutes and pump it through a jumper to the next one. When they are all done I reverse the order and pump 165F rinse water through each one. Then they get a Starsan solution pumped through and they're done. I store them open, but upside down. I've never had an infected batch, no off tastes other than just not great beer, and when I've broken them down there were no visible signs of crud, debris or anything to make me worry about my regimen.

 

My comment on gunk in the post had more to do with hop particles than anything else. Now I use a paint strainer bag over the raking cane, and those issues do not happen.

 

I didn't know I could take my cobra taps apart for cleaning so I finally did after 15 years and they were spotless inside. I saw a picture of some really gross, nasty, black gunk in cobra taps so I got worried and took mine apart.
I use pretty much the same procedure with them-run a couple of gallons of hot PBW solution through them followed by hot rinse water and they're done. BTW my brett beer kegs get no special treatment or segregation.

 

Every time